


I Know Why (And So Do You)

by AngelinLazurite



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe, Espionage, Fairy Tale Curses, M/M, Mentioned Edelgard von Hresvelg, Merman Ferdinand von Aegir, Spy Hubert von Vestra, Spy Yuri Leclerc, Tags May Change, kind of a Shape of Water inspired AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:55:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26006065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelinLazurite/pseuds/AngelinLazurite
Summary: Hubert von Vestra has been sent to the country of Morfis to gather information from a private government facility where human experimentation takes place. He is no closer to discovering what sort of plan they might be cooking up against Adrestia until something strange is discovered by the Morfis scientists...
Relationships: Ferdinand von Aegir/Hubert von Vestra
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter here is a bit short but they do get longer as u go
> 
> Also this fic is currently on hiatus bc im really busy with a new job. I'll work on it when i can but dont expect updates too often. I dont want to leave this unfinished forever tho so it will be done eventually.

Every day was the same; get up at precisely 5 am, dress, grab a bite to eat from a nearby bakery, and head into work where he steeled his emotions to survive witnessing the many horrendous experiments the enemy’s private government facility practiced on a daily basis.

Hubert von Vestra was not a sensitive man, far from it. He took on this job with the full knowledge of what it might entail, but still… nothing could prepare him for the full extent of it. It made him furious knowing it may be months or years before he could make a move, but if nothing else, he was patient. He can handle the guilt of watching innocents die for as long as it takes. He will not let their sacrifices be in vain. He will be sure their murderers suffer.

Hubert flashed his ID at door scanner which promptly beeped and the little LED flashed green as it unlocked the entrance of the large, nondescript building. He opened the heavy metal door and walked down the poorly lit hallway leading down to the reception desk where he spotted the head scientist, Dr. von Varley shouting at the poor receptionist.

She was his daughter, but Hubert was fairly positive she had no idea what the facility even did and it angered him to no end that she was mixed up with such a place so clearly against her will.

“What good is a receptionist if they don’t answer the phone?!” Dr. von Varley shouted, slamming a hand down on the desk as his daughter squeaked and cowered under his glare.

“S-s-s-sorry! I promise to answer!” She stammered, gripping her skirt so tightly, her knuckles started to turn white.

Dr. von Varley huffed as he stood up straight and acknowledged Hubert’s entrance with a nod.

“We’ll talk later,” he warned her in a hushed tone, turning and heading down the opposite hall to the labs.

“Good morning, Miss Bernadetta,” Hubert greeted in the most friendly tone he could muster while he fixed Dr. von Varley’s back with a murderous glare. Bernadetta von Varley was the only highlight of this dreadful place and was probably his biggest motivator; a reminder that good people still existed in the world. He once again, as he did nearly every day, swore to himself he will get her out of this job, no matter what it took.

“Ah… hello, Hubert…” she replied, nervously staring down at her hands. He always seemed to put her on edge, though he couldn’t blame her; his features, as his fellow conspirator Linhardt had put it, made him look like a vampire, on the hunt for his next meal.

“Any Bernie news?” he asked, an invitation for her to share something that makes her happy.

She smiled weakly, raised her head, and fixed her eyes on his collar instead.

“I finished a story I was working on yesterday.”

“Is that so? Good work. I would be happy to proofread it, if you would like.”

She shook her head, furiously.

“I can’t! It’s not good!”

“Oh, come now, you’ve been working hard on it, haven’t you? I’m sure it’s excellent. You have shown me a little of your writing before.”

“Y-yeah but…”

He smiled and shrugged.

“Very well, you don’t have to show me if you don’t want to, but just know that I believe in you.”

She returned the smile with a slightly bigger one than before and bowed her head sheepishly as her hands finally released her skirt and allowed it to fall back down past her knees.

“Thank you…”

Hubert’s watch chirped, a reminder that his shift started shortly. He waved to Bernadetta one last time before he headed down the hall to the timestamp monitor and clocked in for the day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri seizes him and Hubert an opportunity.

The screams and moans of pain echoed down the halls inside the lab, soundproofed so no one outside could hear them. Suffering dripped throughout every inch of the facility and the familiar sensation of a cold hand gripping his heart returned as Hubert walked confidently down the halls and into the main office for his daily assignment.

As far as the management was concerned, Hubert von Vestra was lab assistant Hubert Blackthorne whose main priority was reporting the results of the day’s tests and filing them in the appropriate places. He had become quite adept at this point at discreetly copying pages he wrote and hiding them on his person to hand off to his true boss, Lady Edelgard, head of the Enbarr Intelligence Agency in the neighboring country of Adrestia.

Morfis and Adrestia had a long, bloody history and it was suspected that they may have been planning something big when they had gone suddenly silent after their last feud, so Lady Edelgard sent her most trusted spy to infiltrate various government facilities and gain their trust. He had found some luck so far in the past year, though was still no closer to discovering their true plans than when he started. All he had were theories (a bioweapon perhaps? Human enhancements?) and the disgusting knowledge that they had hired Dr. von Varley, a scientist that used to be one of Adrestia’s best before he had disappeared suddenly years before.

The man in charge of the facility, a much older man that Hubert could never remember the name of, looked him over, apathetically as if he had never seen him before despite seeing him every day. Hubert suspected he may just have face blindness, but it was hard to say for sure.

“Number?” He asked, much like he did every day.

“99403,” Hubert responded without a glance towards his name badge.

The man nodded and flipped through his folders to find the assignments for the day.

“Hrm… Hubert Blackthorne, is that right?”

“Yessir.”

“Looks like… you’re in Lab 9E today,” he said as he slid him the folder. “That’s an interesting one, that is. Specimen was found just yesterday. Bet you’ve never seen anything like it.” He yawned. “Lucky you get to see it before the testing begins. Wish I could…”

“Thank you, sir,” Hubert said with a bow, cutting him off before he could fall into another one of his complaining sessions, remembering how long it took the last time.

The man shrugged and waved Hubert out, his attention drawn back to his monitor.

Hubert headed down the hallways, doing his best to ignore the suffering as he sped-walked to his assigned lab.

The halls around the lab-room were busier than normal as various scientists spoke excitedly in hushed tones and poured over sheets of paper. One of the head scientists, a pretty man who had his lavender hair pulled back into a ponytail, waved at Hubert from his place in front of the door with a sharp demand for his coworkers to make room.

“Good morning, Hubert,” he greeted, cheerfully, as he clapped a hand on Hubert’s shoulder.

“What’s going on here?” Hubert whispered as two slipped inside and locked the heavy door firmly behind them.

“Oh, you know,” the man started, sitting himself down on his wheeled stool and leaning back against the wall. “Apparently they found something weird last night and shipped it straight here, so OBVIOUSLY,” he smiled mischievously, “I thought we might as well get a little peek first. Maybe get a head start on their little plan before they even think of it, eh?”

“Of course you were the one to arrange this…” Hubert sighed and hung up his coat by the door, threw his lab-coat over his shoulders, and cautiously approached the large tarp covered tank in the center of the room.

“Well, yeah. Hey, we’re both traitors, why not work together?”

“What country are you from again?”

“Does it matter? I’m feeding you guys information too.”

“Are you certain there are no cameras in here?”

“Um, yeah? You think I’m that stupid, Hubie?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Aw, come on,” the man purred as he leaned forward in his seat. “I keep telling you you’re free to call me Yuri-bird or whatever other silly name you can come up with. Gotta make it even.”

“I’m not the type, sorry.”

“Sure.” Yuri stood and stretched. “Well, if it’s all the same to you, I’m just gonna observe whatever the hell this is today. Maybe throw in a few minor tests, who knows. Let’s just make this a brain-storming day, why don’t we?”

“How you manage to keep your job here, I will never understand…”

“Hey, observation is very important!”

Hubert smirked.

“You sure this isn’t just a way of saying you have a soft spot for the subjects?”

“Oh, shut up. As if you don’t.”

“Hmph.”

“Anyway, let’s get the tarp off this thing already.”

“Do you know what it is?”

“No. Now hurry up, I’m dying to find out!”

Hubert chuckled, took the end of the tarp, pulled, and watched as it fell at their feet and revealed the creature inside.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hubert meets a merman.

Inside, at the very bottom, lay a merperson. They had long orange hair and a crimson tail whose end reminded Hubert of a betta fish in the way it fanned out like a veil, flowing gently with every slight movement it made. Their scaly skin was a lovely sun-kissed peach and was scattered with darker scales like freckles. Hubert’s jaw dropped, and judging from the sudden sound of glass shattering to his left, he knew Yuri was in a similar position, likely having just knocked into one of the trays of beakers left on one of the counters.

“I… I heard rumors, but…” Yuri stammered as he cautiously approached the tank by Hubert’s side. “Merpeople are real…?”

“It’s… they’re incredible…”

“They are…”

The two continued to stare in silence for a moment, the merperson inside unmoving.

“Are they sleeping, do you think?” Yuri asked as he paced around the tank to see if he could catch a glimpse of their face.

“I hope so… Better than dead.”

“Hm… no, they appear to be awake…” Yuri rested his chin in his hand, lost in thought. “I’m wondering… perhaps I should convince them to let us continue ‘experimentations’ for a while… might slow down whatever they might be planning… what do you think, Hubie?”

“Is that wise?” he frowned. “Wouldn’t be better to keep an eye on everything right now? We can’t afford to let anything slip through the cracks.”

“Hm… I don’t know… the way they made this creature in particular sound… I think they believe they might be a breakthrough.”

“I see…” Hubert mirrored him and assessed his options.

“Look, if you don’t want to personally get involved here, I’ll manage on my own, I simply thought this might make both of our jobs easier.”

“No, you’re right, I underestimated what the creature might mean to them…”

Yuri crossed the room and plopped himself down on the wheeled chair again, and wheeled himself closer to the glass.

“Okay! So in that case… guess we’ll have to see if we can get the creature to trust us. I kinda like the idea of a merperson ally, don’t you?”

“Perhaps. I’ll have ask Lady El what she thinks.”

“Ah, of course.” There was a sarcastic bite to his voice that Hubert chose to ignore as he opened the fridge to the right of the tank used to store food for the subjects.

He peered in and noted the small stack of fish that had been tossed haphazardly inside without labels or care. The familiar twang of anger tugged at Hubert’s heart at the sight; a reminder of what he came for.

“Ah, nice thinking. Hey, you try to feed them and I’ll take notes.”

Hubert turned and scowled at the ‘scientist’ who returned the look with faux-innocence.

“I thought you were the one who was supposed to initiate tests.”

“Sure, but you see, make-up and water don’t mix. Besides, it’s just feeding. Even an assistant can do that.”

Hubert grunted in response, deciding he wasn’t in the mood to argue with Yuri any more than he already did, removed a couple fish from the fridge, and slammed the door shut with his foot.

He ascended the small temporary stairs to the side of the tank, typed the unlock code with his knuckles, and slid the heavy lid away exposing the open water below. The merperson, who hadn’t moved once during the entire time he had been in the room, seemed to shift as the lid was unsealed, though it could have been a trick of the light.

Hubert dropped the first fish, long dead, into the water and watched it sink pathetically to the bottom for a moment before he dropped the next one. The merperson didn’t move. Hubert leaned in slightly and ran a hand through the water’s surface. There was no way they didn’t know he had-

He was in the water, he couldn’t see much other than an orange blur and he could feel something with a vice-like grip wrap around his wrist, sharpened claws digging into his skin as he could feel himself sinking fast. He could faintly hear Yuri’s shout and the sound of something heavy fall to the concreate floor. He choked, he couldn’t breathe, all he could see was a mass of orange above him as his back collided with the solid floor of the tank and pressure pressed down on his chest. His vision started to go dark, his pale hands grasped uselessly at the scaly hands that held him in place. He can’t die here. Not yet.

“ _Please_ …” he felt his mouth say, “ _I want to help you_ …”

All at once the pressure lifted and Hubert found himself coughing and spluttering on the lab floor as Yuri tossed an emergency blanket over his shoulders, looking suspiciously dry aside from the front of his clothes.

“Goddess, Hubert, are you okay?!”

“You… how… did they…?” Hubert managed between coughs.

“They…” Yuri turned his head towards the tank where the merperson now floated, arms crossed, a deep scowl directed at the two as if to say, ‘I still do not trust you’.

As Hubert got his coughing under control, he stood and approached the tank, and ignored Yuri’s warnings as he walked, wrapping his blanket ever tighter around his shivering shoulders. He stopped and looked the creature over and took in their-his, Hubert determined- handsome princely features. His round eyes were as orange as his long, flowing hair, laugh-lines etched the sides of his mouth, and the dark freckle-like scales speckled across his nose and cheeks like stars.

_He’s beautiful…_

The sudden thought surprised Hubert greatly. He didn’t think he had ever thought of another man that way before. Sure, Yuri was pretty, but… Come to think of it, he wasn’t sure he had ever thought of a woman in that way either… He shook his head slightly to clear the thoughts away for the time being-there were more important matters.

“Thank you, friend,” he said to the merman, uncertain if he truly understood him. The merman huffed, his frown deepened slightly. ‘Whatever’, he seemed to say. “I swear to you, you will not regret this.”

The merman rolled his eyes and turned away. With a flick of his tail, he returned to the far corner of the tank and lay back down, his back to them once again.

“Well.” Yuri started as he picked up his stool and sat himself down. “I suppose… that’s one way to start a friendship.”

Hubert turned and took a seat on the back counter with a sigh as he started the process of drying his hair with the blanket.

“I suppose. Though I don’t imagine he’s going to make it any easier for us either.”

“No, I guess not…” Yuri sighed. “Anyway… I guess we should just start brainstorming, huh?”

“Yes. I’m curious about your theories so far.”

“From what I’ve gathered… I’m leaning towards human enhancements… I wish I could say I knew definitively what the higher-ups are after with my position, but I guess they’re really choose-y with who they tell.” Yuri explained with a slight bitterness in his tone. “If I juuuust knew who to kiss up to…”

“I do remember you telling me this before,” Hubert nodded, “please just get to your theories.”

“I personally don’t think they’re after anything in particular… at least regarding what type of enhancements. I bet they think anything is progress. However…” Yuri jerked his head to the tank. “Since Morfis and Adrestia are separated by water…”

“Ah… Yes, that does make sense…”

“I’ll see if I can keep tabs on the other experiments and find the pattern while holding our place here… While I’m doing that, do you think you can befriend our fish-man over there? You already seemed to have made a little bit of an impression.”

“I’ll… try…”

“You seem uncertain? That’s rare.”

“It’s just… I work best in the shadows. You seem more suited to the job of… how did you word it? ‘Kissing up’ to people?”

“Well you are right about that, I’m quite charming, but I AM the hacker here, sooo, this is just the more convenient route for both of us.” He paused, “Unless… you WANT me to overwork myself?”

“Not at all. I apologize. I know it’s more convenient even if…” Hubert looked to the tank and watched the merman’s tail swish slightly. “Even if, it’s not my strong suit.”

“Aw, come on, don’t sell yourself short. Bernadetta seems to be pretty fond of you.”

“That…”

“Shhh, don’t call it a fluke. You know how skittish she is.”

“What is your relationship to her, anyway? I hear her talk quite highly of you.”

“Ooh a pivot! Love those!”

“Tch, never mind.” Hubert stood, walked to the tank, leaving the blanket behind, and sat down in front of it. “You just get to work.”

Yuri snorted, but did not speak further, instead pulling a laptop from his bag and typing silently away.

Hubert stared at the merman’s back and wondered to himself how he might try and win his favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: please dont assume pronouns based on appearance. Hubert guessed right this time, but realistically, he should've waited to know for sure hfskljalkjdlk. I just didn't want to use they/them for Ferdie anymore. 
> 
> Anyway, chapter 4 is much longer and is almost done(?). It won't be posted tonight, but I also can't tell ya when it will be. I really don't want to keep readers waiting for too long. I will be sure to add something to the tags or smth if I discontinue a fic so no one has to wait on updates that just won't happen lol.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hubert manages to reach an understanding with the merman and the three start their scheming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I say I would not upload chapter 4 tonight? My mistake.

“So, you’re sure he understands you?”

“Certain. Not sure why else he would let me go. He seemed pretty intent on murdering me.” Hubert sipped his coffee as his next door neighbor and fellow spy stared skeptically through half-lidded eyes.

“Fascinating…” he muttered to himself. “Well, I’m at least intrigued no matter what Lady Edelgard will say.”

“Figured you might be… So. Your thoughts on how best to proceed?”

“Uhhh, I’m not the right person to ask about this.” Linhardt yawned and lay back in his armchair. “Caspar or Dorothea might be better…”

“Ah, that’s a great idea, let me just phone them up and ask. It’s not like communication through more than one channel is dangerous or anything.”

“Sheesh, calm down, Hubert. I’m just saying I’m no expert.” Linhardt leaned forward, hands folded in his lap. “Didn’t you mention Yuri was involved? Isn’t he the expert here?”

“Yes, but I already tried him. He merely shrugged and told me to just ‘try my best’. Besides, he has his own matters to deal with.”

“Hm…” Linhardt closed his eyes for a moment. “I don’t know… The only idea I have is just to try and communicate with him. He already seemed to be willing to give you a shot, so he might feel a little inclined to listen?”

“Perhaps…”

“Welp,” Linhardt stood and stretched his arms above his head before he collected the documents Hubert had left on the table between them. “Guess I’ll go make the report to Lady Edelgard. You should get some rest. It’s getting late.”

Hubert stood and offered a short bow.

“I’ll do just that. Goodnight, Linhardt.”

“’Night.”

Hubert arrived earlier than usual the next morning, waved briefly to Bernadetta, and headed to the main office, fingers crossed that Yuri had managed to convince them to let them continue in that lab.

“Number?” the man in charge asked as usual, his eyes glued to his monitor.

Hubert gave it and he was tossed his daily folder assigning him back to the merman lab.

Yuri was waiting for him in front of the door, hands behind his back and humming to himself, cheerfully, stopping abruptly as Hubert approached.

“Hey, Hubie, g’morning!”

“How much time did you…” Hubert paused, glancing over his shoulder. “How many days were we given? Just want to make the set up easier if we’re working the same assignment multiple days in a row.”

“One month unless they find a reason to extend it. I’m sure we can get plenty of work done in that time.” Yuri responded with a wink as he unlocked the door and the two headed inside.

“Excellent.” Hubert shut the door behind him, locked it, and hung his coat up at the rack. “I take it you have already managed to access some documents? You had all the time yesterday to do so.”

“Still working on it. I managed to download a couple of the unprotected ones, but they don’t have a lot of info… I’ll be sure to send them Lin’s way once I do.”

“Hm, I must have overestimated your abilities.”

“Hey, I’m an EXCELLENT hacker. How do you think I made it here with next to no qualifications?”

“Isn’t that more ‘forgery’ than ‘hacking’?”

“It’s both. The point is, I’m being a little extra cautious.”

Hubert chuckled as he set his bag down by the door and approached the tarp covered tank, and pulled it back to the floor.

The merman did not seem to have moved much since the day before, perhaps only closer to the far wall.

“Apologies. Well, I’ll try not to disturb you too much today. Wouldn’t want to distract a true master of his craft, now would we?”

“Very funny.” Yuri walked to Hubert’s side and peered into the tank. “So, what’s the plan? I’m sure you’ve thought of something.”

Hubert nodded somewhat hesitantly before starting to unbutton his shirt.

“Um, hello?! Jumping straight to seduction, Hubie?! I didn’t think you were the type…”

Hubert rolled his eyes as he let the shirt fall revealing a wetsuit he had hidden underneath.

“Oh.”

“I figured, if we could not bring him to us, I will come to him.” Hubert explained as he undid his belt and stepped out of his pants, neatly folding them by his bag.

“If… you’re sure… Don’t make me have to drag you out again.”

“I’m… certain it won’t be necessary.” Hubert unzipped his bag and took out his goggles and a small mask Linhardt had made-a prototype of a portable oxygen filtration system (“I have tested it and it does work, but it might be a bad idea to use it for too long”). He fixed the mask over his nose and mouth and put on his goggles before starting his ascent up the ladder.

Yuri watched from below, one eyebrow raised.

“You don’t sound certain…”

“Then watch my back.” Hubert punched in the code and lifted the tank lid, noting that the fish he dropped in the day before were still resting at the bottom, untouched. He couldn’t say he was surprised. Many subjects did refuse to eat after they were captured, after all, and it always was heartbreaking to witness, but he couldn’t let that distract him today.

He took a deep breath, anticipating the cold water below, knowing this time he was prepared for it. He dropped in, the chill immediately sinking in, but not as deep as before as he sank to the bottom. The merman’s head perked up slightly and peered over his shoulder, his expression hidden behind his feathery hair.

Hubert kept his distance as he crossed his legs and forced himself to sit at the bottom, carefully watching the merman’s movements.

The merman sat up and fixed Hubert with a puzzled look, his head tilted to the side and his brows furrowed.

_‘He could not hear our conversation then… Perhaps it was the glass and the distance from it?’_ Hubert thought to himself, his citrus green eyes meeting orange. _‘I know he can understand us.’_

The merman twisted slowly forward, his eyes darted to Yuri outside the glass who was still standing where Hubert had left him, watching the two carefully. His eyes returned to Hubert’s and drifted in his direction. He stopped, floating just in front of him and eyed him suspiciously.

“I thought we could talk,” Hubert said and immediately disliked how the mask and the water distorted his voice, “if you can understand me, that is.”

The merman’s frown deepened, but after a moment he pointed a long nail upwards to the surface and swam up slightly, and paused as if to wait for Hubert to follow. Hubert righted himself and kicked off from the bottom. He broke the water’s surface before the merman did, sat himself down on the edge of the tank, and quickly removed the uncomfortable mask.

The merman’s head popped up, his long hair fanning out around him like a halo as he shot Hubert another wary look.

“Thank you. I wasn’t sure if you would be willing to listen.”

“Give me one good reason why I should,” the merman responded, his loud, confident voice making Hubert’s heart skip a beat.

“Me and my… companion, are spies. Simply put, we are not working in Morfis’s best interests.”

The merman pondered this for a moment as he observed them carefully as if ready to catch them on a lie.

“…So it was Morfis who captured me, was it?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Then where do you hail from?”

“Adrestia. I am a part of the Enbarr Intelligence Agency.”

“And him?” the merman jerked his head towards Yuri.

Hubert sighed.

“I wish I knew, but he-”

“Faerghus.”

Hubert’s head turned sharply towards the pretty man as he smiled innocently back.

“I beg your pardon?” Hubert asked, unable to stop himself from sounding annoyed.

Yuri took a seat and pulled his laptop into his lap, still smiling in faux-innocence.

“What, it’s not like Adrestia and Faerghus are in conflict. We’re on the same side, more or less.”

“Why did you refuse to tell me before, then?!”

“Didn’t have a reason to.”

“Unbelievable…”

“Hey, look, I have my personal reasons to be helping Adrestia, anyway, so it’s not like it’s a big deal.” Yuri waved a hand dismissively as his smile fell and his eyes fixed to his screen. “Anyway, I’m back to work, so keep it down over there, I have to focus.”

Hubert shot the man one final exasperated look before he returned his gaze to the merman whose expression seemed to have relaxed slightly.

“Adrestia and Faerghus… Very well, I will hear what you have to say,” the merman rested an arm on the edge of the tank. “Though I believe an introduction is in order?”

“Of course.” Hubert straightened his back and bowed his head in the merman’s direction. “Hubert von Vestra.”

“Yuri Leclerc,” Yuri called from his seat, still largely focused on his screen, his fingers racing across the keys at speeds Hubert used to believe could not be possible.

“Von Vestra…” the merman looked mortified as he sunk a little into the water, “I had no idea… to think I nearly drowned you…”

“You… know who I am?”

“I am… familiar with Adrestian Nobility.”

Hubert shook his head.

“Ex-nobility,” he corrected, “Adrestia became a democracy a few years ago. I simply work in their Intelligence Agency now.”

“Is that so… I must have missed a lot…”

“Your name?”

“Ferdinand.”

Something about the name was familiar somehow, but Hubert couldn’t place where he may have heard it before. As far as he was aware, he didn’t know any Ferdinands. He cleared the idea from his mind. There would be time to think on it later.

“Well, then, Ferdinand, I take it we have your cooperation?”

“I do not know how much help I can offer, but you do have my trust for the time being.”

“Excellent,” Hubert held out his hand and Ferdinand took it. His skin was cold and slick, but not necessarily in a bad way. Hubert felt his heart jolt a little in his chest on contact.

“So!” Ferdinand swam closer to Hubert’s side and leaned over the edge with both arms. His head rested on them as he lazily floated his tail on the surface, his fins fanned out behind him. “What is the current plan?”

“For now we’ve decided to hack for information. I don’t know if Yuri feels the same way, but I suspect we may have to end our little operation soon if we’re planning to break you out.”

“Yeahhh… It’s not ideal considering how much we still have to dig up, but we’ve kinda hit the point of no return here.” Yuri shrugged and paused his typing for a moment. “I think the odds are in our favor for now though, so I’m willing to risk it.”

“I see… So, what will you be doing, Hubert?”

“I’m… not sure.”

“Keeping you company,” Yuri said, resuming his typing. “Also can you guys brainstorm what kind of diabolical tests I’m doing every day? We can’t have them catch on before I find anything.”

“Of course,” Hubert stood and fetched his clipboard hanging from the wall next to the door as well as a pen and some scratch paper. He sat back down at the merman’s side. “Now then… I feel as though we should work our way through the more harmless tests first. Perhaps obtain some realistic data…”

“Shall I skew the numbers?”

“Hm… depending on the test, I might want you to do it once for real. I’m sure we could use them for our own ends, but yes, for the most part.”

“Ah, excellent.” Ferdinand smiled a sunny bright smile, a pair of dimples appearing at the sides of his mouth and Hubert once again felt a jolt in his chest at the sight. He silently cursed his body for making such a reaction. Now was truly not the time for it.

He coughed and started jotting down some ideas. Once done, he turned the clipboard to face Ferdinand.

“Now I was thinking we could start with…”

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so I wanted to finish this before I posted bc I'm weird and don't like the idea of leaving people waiting for updates but I'm kinda stuck and I've reread the first few chapters enough times to be at least somewhat okay with posting it now. It's just been too long since I last posted a fic and it was really bothering me lol. After this one I might try to post some shorter ones but knowing me they still might be multiple chapters lol. 
> 
> Once I was told to write a short story and it ended up 15 pages... then we were told to write a longer one and it ended up 53...
> 
> Anyway I hope you enjoy this anyway. 
> 
> Also idk how long it actually will be so the 10 chapter thing is just an estimate.
> 
> (Btw the title is not deep or anything skdlfjdskl google it and I think you'll understand why I used it. I did not have a lot of options and had no ideas for an original title)


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